NEW YORK - With oil prices marching to new heights of close to $60 a barrel, the president of OPEC said Monday the group will consider raising its output ceiling by half a million barrels as early as this week.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised its output target by that amount just last week. The move appeared to have little impact on prices, which have risen by almost $12 a barrel in the past month because of concerns about limited refining capacity and rising demand for gasoline and diesel.

Light sweet crude for July delivery climbed 38 cents to $58.85 a barrel in afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, prices hit $59.23, an intraday record on Nymex, where oil futures have been traded since 1983.

Gasoline prices in the U.S. average about $2.13 a gallon, an increase of more than 40 percent over the past two years, but government data released last week showed that demand is up almost 3 percent from a year ago over the past four weeks at nearly 9.5 million barrels a day — a growth rate that surprised many analysts.

While soaring jet fuel costs have been a major problem for the airline industry, higher energy prices have not taken as much of a toll on the broader economy as analysts had previously feared. In the first three months of the year, the U.S. economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate, according to the Commerce Department, slightly slower than the 4.5 percent pace a year earlier.

The prospect of another attempt by OPEC to cool prices did not impress brokers, who said the effort could actually backfire by highlighting the group's dwindling excess production capacity.

Still, "it looks like we might have difficulty holding these levels," said Mike Fitzpatrick, an oil broker at Fimat USA in New York. "You're seeing a great deal of reluctance among buyers to pay these higher prices."

Oil analyst Andrew Lebow at Man Financial in New York said "once we're in this $55-$60 area, it's been kind of hard to justify. But it is what it is. It seems like we'll hit $60 at this point."

Brent crude for August delivery broke the $57.65 per barrel peak it reached last April to set a new high of $58.58 Monday on London's International Petroleum Exchange. It later fell back to $58.01 a barrel, up 25 cents.

OPEC President Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah said Monday that "if the prices continue to the end of this week at the same level, I will start consulting my colleagues to release the 500,000." Asked by reporters in Kuwait what he meant by the end of this week, the minister said Friday.

Last week the oil cartel agreed to raise its official production ceiling to 28 million barrels, starting July 1, but that failed to soothe traders because OPEC's output is already exceeding that level as producers seek to cash in on high prices. Including Iraq, which is not bound by the quota system, OPEC is pumping close to 30 million barrels a day, or about 35 percent of global demand.

Another development brokers were watching on Monday was the threat of a strike by oil workers in Norway, the world's third-largest exporter. A strike could begin as soon as Wednesday because of a salary dispute, potentially slicing the country's daily output of 3 million barrels by a third.

"If you take off 1 million barrels a day in this market, it's going to get ugly," said oil broker Tom Bentz of BNP Paribas Commodity Futures in New York. "Let's just hope it doesn't happen."

While Nymex oil futures are more than 50 percent higher than a year ago, they are still below the inflation-adjusted high above $90 a barrel set in 1980.

Analysts said unlike the record prices last year, which were driven largely by concern over geopolitical events in oil-producing countries such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Venezuela, this year's trend has more to do with speculative buying, continued supply fears and limited excess production capacity.

This isn't about you. I thought I made that clear. Well, it's about you only to the extent that you are suddenly noticing disrespectful posts when they're aimed at you but for some reason you apparently never noticed them when they were aimed at other people.

That's hardly true, either. It's impossible not to notice. I usually try to ignore it. As I stated earlier, I just wasn't in the mood for shitsprayer's disrespectful bullshit that day. I just felt like telling him how much of a punk he is.

It kind of cracks me up that you guys on the left get such a redass over being handed what you guys served up for the prior administration.

I didn't serve up shit. I didn't like Bush but I realize that a President only has so much time to **** things up. Even though he sent me to a war I didn't agree with, I kept my mouth shut and did my goddamn job, knowing that it be over at some point. I didn't let it consume my life. When it came time to vote, I voted against him. Pretty standard fare.

My main issues with Obama stem from the fact that there hasn't been a single meaningful reform or banker jailed from the financial crisis. I probably would have been upset about how long it took to draw down in Iraq and Afghanistan had I not gone there and seen the crazy amount of resources and personnel that had to be removed.

He isn't perfect but I realize that all this stuff about him creating a moocher class, destroying our health care, etc etc is just garbage.

I am seriously looking forward to the reforms the Republican Party comes up with for 2016. If they can ditch putting forth the policies of the religious right in their party platform I'll consider their candidate. Until then they can suck a dick.

That's hardly true, either. It's impossible not to notice. I usually try to ignore it. As I stated earlier, I just wasn't in the mood for shitsprayer's disrespectful bullshit that day. I just felt like telling him how much of a punk he is.

I don't have much respect for your powers of observation then. They seem heavily clouded by either partisan interest or self-focus.

__________________

“The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they’re not.” - Hillary Clinton

Tell us how his policies have been good for America. I promise I won't interupt.

Well, let's just start with the economy. He took over an economy that was in free-fall. The Bush Economic Crash was caused by policies that were endorsed wholeheartedly by the Bush Administration. Granted, many of the policies (financial deregulation) had been underway for years prior. However, the Bushies doubled down on deregulation of the financial industry. The collapse could have been avoided.

The Obama Admin. had to stabilize the economy. They did that. They had to invest in jobs and infrastructure. That cost money that you now say ballooned the deficit. However, that deficit ship was blown out the water by two unfunded wars, irresponsible tax cuts, and an unnecessary prescription drug plan (corporate boondoggle) that doubled the cost of Medicare.

Regardless of whether anyone on the right wants to admit it the economy is improving. No one is going to argue that it is improving fast enough but it deserves a little more respect considering what could have been following the Bush Economic Collapse. I believe he deserves credit for salvaging the economy as it continues to stabilize. It would probably be in even better shape if republicans in congress would put the country's welfare ahead of their desire to undermine the president. They have been the epitome of obstructionism and partisan politics.

As Dick Cheney said, "Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don't matter." And republicans have shown again and again that they believe what Mr. Cheney stated. They took Clinton's job well done and created a morass.

As Bill Clinton tried to tell us, we need a consumer base with disposable income to fuel the economy. For thirty years Trickle Down Class Warfare has shrunk that consumer base while converting our economy from one of supply and demand, products, services, and labor to one of investment and Wall Street speculation.

You may not like the way it's being done but the current administration is trying to jump start the middle class and the consumer base. Investing in jobs at home and rebuilding our infrastructure will go a long way in helping to do this.

Well, let's just start with the economy. He took over an economy that was in free-fall. The Bush Economic Crash was caused by policies that were endorsed wholeheartedly by the Bush Administration. Granted, many of the policies (financial deregulation) had been underway for years prior. However, the Bushies doubled down on deregulation of the financial industry. The collapse could have been avoided.

The Obama Admin. had to stabilize the economy. They did that. They had to invest in jobs and infrastructure. That cost money that you now say ballooned the deficit. However, that deficit ship was blown out the water by two unfunded wars, irresponsible tax cuts, and an unnecessary prescription drug plan (corporate boondoggle) that doubled the cost of Medicare.

Regardless of whether anyone on the right wants to admit it the economy is improving. No one is going to argue that it is improving fast enough but it deserves a little more respect considering what could have been following the Bush Economic Collapse. I believe he deserves credit for salvaging the economy as it continues to stabilize. It would probably be in even better shape if republicans in congress would put the country's welfare ahead of their desire to undermine the president. They have been the epitome of obstructionism and partisan politics.

As Dick Cheney said, "Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don't matter." And republicans have shown again and again that they believe what Mr. Cheney stated. They took Clinton's job well done and created a morass.

As Bill Clinton tried to tell us, we need a consumer base with disposable income to fuel the economy. For thirty years Trickle Down Class Warfare has shrunk that consumer base while converting our economy from one of supply and demand, products, services, and labor to one of investment and Wall Street speculation.

You may not like the way it's being done but the current administration is trying to jump start the middle class and the consumer base. Investing in jobs at home and rebuilding our infrastructure will do this.

Well, let's just start with the economy. He took over an economy that was in free-fall. The Bush Economic Crash was caused by policies that were endorsed wholeheartedly by the Bush Administration. Granted, many of the policies (financial deregulation) had been underway for years prior. However, the Bushies doubled down on deregulation of the financial industry. The collapse could have been avoided.

The Obama Admin. had to stabilize the economy. They did that. They had to invest in jobs and infrastructure. That cost money that you now say ballooned the deficit. However, that deficit ship was blown out the water by two unfunded wars, irresponsible tax cuts, and an unnecessary prescription drug plan (corporate boondoggle) that doubled the cost of Medicare.

Regardless of whether anyone on the right wants to admit it the economy is improving. No one is going to argue that it is improving fast enough but it deserves a little more respect considering what could have been following the Bush Economic Collapse. I believe he deserves credit for salvaging the economy as it continues to stabilize. It would probably be in even better shape if republicans in congress would put the country's welfare ahead of their desire to undermine the president. They have been the epitome of obstructionism and partisan politics.

As Dick Cheney said, "Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don't matter." And republicans have shown again and again that they believe what Mr. Cheney stated. They took Clinton's job well done and created a morass.

As Bill Clinton tried to tell us, we need a consumer base with disposable income to fuel the economy. For thirty years Trickle Down Class Warfare has shrunk that consumer base while converting our economy from one of supply and demand, products, services, and labor to one of investment and Wall Street speculation.

You may not like the way it's being done but the current administration is trying to jump start the middle class and the consumer base. Investing in jobs at home and rebuilding our infrastructure will go a long way in helping to do this.

Welcome to penchief's fairy tale universe.

__________________

“The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they’re not.” - Hillary Clinton

I don't have much respect for your powers of observation then. They seem heavily clouded by either partisan interest or self-focus.

I said it is hard NOT to notice. So how does that mean I didn't observe? You seem to be going down side roads to manufacture an argument against me that strays farther and farther from the initial point. If I say that it is hard not to notice but I refrain from responding in kind, how does that make me partisan? It just means that I don't want to get into a pissing match.